We all love drama. The more convoluted, drawn out, ridiculous it is, the more we love it.

Some of us love it behind closed doors—or in the case of these here intrawebz, by lurking quietly in the background. And some of us have to be on hand wherever pieces of the wreckage happen to fall. The majority of us, like any good normal distribution, fall somewhere in between these extremes. And more power to us, really.

But occasionally, even the most stalwart among us get a tad fed up with all the screeching of “mean girlz” and the batshit crazy, so today I would like to list some of the amazingly cool people I’ve met around blogland this year. I say some because I’m liable to forget one or more (please do forgive me if your name isn’t mentioned—I’m having a CRS* day) (Perhaps I shouldn’t write this now…) (But then, there’s no guarantee I’ll ever get over the CRS*)

First up, the authors I’ve interacted with in the past few months (since I started reviewing) who have shown me that writing and maturity (to say nothing of graciousness and professionalism) can coexist beautifully.

Authors who have been patient and understanding when I’ve been late with a promised review: Amber Carlton, Angie Fox, Sandra Schwab, Jackie Kessler, Lauren Dane.

An author who stands out for her amazing graciousness is Sara Reinke, who replied “I’m sorry you didn’t like the book. Having been utterly bored by books that other people enjoyed (Stephen King’s Insomnia, for example), I know how you feel. Wish it wasn’t about MY book, but hey, it happens. Thanks for sharing your feedback!” to a comment that said, in part, “I’d be happy to pass on my ARC to someone who would actually read it. I sincerely hope I’ll never get bored enough to give it a second go round.”

Then there is the rather large contingent of authors who consistently behave like mature adults and consummate professionals: Nora Roberts, Shiloh Walker, Ann Aguirre, Meljean Brook, Brownyn Jameson, Jule Jones… and the list goes on and on and on

And then there are the bloggers. Whatever a few loonies want to say about bloggers, my experience for years has been that most of them are generous, sensible and intelligent people. This year I’ve been lucky enough to become a bit closer with some of them.

Thanks, Azteclady. Your kind words have really made my day. I have learned a lot about the kind of author I want to be by reading this and other blogs, and the illustrations you’ve shared of Authors Behaving Badly. I hope other authors have as well — they’re important, relevant lessons for us all.

My secret to staying cool? (It’s not SoftnDri deodorant.) I just don’t have time to fiddle around on the internet and look for stuff to take offense to. I have deadlines! So if an author has the time to make a spectacle of herself, clearly she’s not working hard enough. *g*

Oh, cool! Thanks for letting me know. Any review, good or bad, means someone at least bothered to read your book, and thought enough about it to write a review. It’s a privilege a reader chooses to read your book (or any book) and writers should be dark grateful when their title is chosen! (I know I am, LOL)

Awww shucks! Thank you. And while the negative stuff seems to get more notice, I think there is a WHOLE lot more good things that go on in blog land. I know my life has been enriched beyond measure by the community and the friends I’ve made – whether I’ve met in person or just on line are very very dear to me.